About

Andrea La Valleur-Purvis is a British-American sculptor whose bold abstract metal works transform geometric forms into powerful explorations of human connection and resilience. Her distinctive sculptures, ranging from intimate pedestal pieces to commanding large-scale installations, unite clean lines with vibrant color, creating works that are both visually striking and emotionally resonant. 

The Artist in her Waco, Texas Studio, 2023 - Photo by Nick Cline

Artist Statement

My work transforms unyielding materials into testaments of resilience and belonging—reflecting our capacity to find beauty and energy even in life’s most challenging moments. 

Growing up in a British-American household across the UK and Germany cultivated my fascination with how cultural boundaries shape identity. This multicultural foundation, combined with extensive travel, has given me a unique lens through which to examine themes of displacement, adaptation, and belonging. Fueled by curiosity and an unrelenting hunger for meaning, my life and work are forged with grit and shaped by story.

Each sculpture becomes a meditation on our ability to adapt and transform, much like the materials I work with. In manipulating resistant mediums, I mirror the human experience of persevering through difficulty to find moments of grace and connection. Through my work, I invite viewers to recognize their own capacity for renewal and to find beauty in the tension between struggle and strength.

Artist Bio

With a formal education in Sculpture, Andrea La Valleur-Purvis holds a BFA in Sculpture from the College of Visual Arts (St. Paul, MN, USA), a post graduate in Innovation and Design Thinking from Emeritus (in collaboration with MIT, Tuck and Columbia Universities) and a number of certificates from IDEO and Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

Her studio practice has been inspired by working artists and teachers who have invested their talent and time to building artists of the future, including Karen Wirth, Sculptor Kurt Dyrhaug and under current mentorship by John Nickell, Master Metalsmith and architectural metal fabricator among others.

La Valleur-Purvis’ work is deeply informed by her multicultural upbringing in the UK and Germany by British and American parents. In adulthood, she lived in Spain for 5 years after traveling the world solo for one year in 2015.

Before returning to her passion of making metal sculptures, La Valleur-Purvis held creative roles for visionary tech brands for nearly two decades. In 2023, La Valleur-Purvis released her first series of public art installations for the City of Waco, Texas. 

She works from her studio in Waco, Texas.

Download CV

Exhibitions

Group Exhibitions

2025 – “Marfa Invitational Open | Texas”, Marfa, TX

2024 – “Austin Studio Tours, 457, Windsor Park Library, Austin, TX 

2024 – “Small Works”, Art Center Waco, TX

2024 – “Museum Day”, Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum, Austin, TX

2024 – Eclipse Shining Shadows, Art Center Waco, Waco, TX

2000 – ”Foot in the Door”, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN

1999 – “Senior Show”, Western Gallery, CVA, St.Paul, MN

 

Public Art

2025 – 2024 Georgetown Public Sculpture Tour, 1st prize award, Sheraton Hotel and Convention Center, Georgetown, TX

2023 – “Luminary Spirit”, Waco, TX

 

Commissions

2025 – Skyline Ballroom Wall Sculpture, AC Hotel Waco Downtown, Marriott, Waco, TX

2025 – Velocity, Rapoport Academy, Waco, TX 

2023-24 – Donor Wall, Startup Waco, Waco, TX

2022 – Entrepreneur Spotlight Display, Startup Waco,  Waco, TX

2007 – Seattle Rachel The Pig Sculpture, Rent-a-Box HQ, Bellevue, WA

 

Awards

2025 – Shortlisted: VAA International Exhibit prize (Top 40 from over 1000 artists)

2024 – Finalist, Geometric Abstractions, 33 Contemporary Gallery, FL

2024 – 2025 Georgetown Public Sculpture Tour, 1st prize award

2023 – Research Grant, Simmons Foundation via Art Center Waco

1995 – Village Scholarship by Duffy Design, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Affiliations

Women & Their Work (Austin)

Texas Society of Sculptors

Visual Arts Association (VAA) (UK)

CodaWorx (USA)

City of San Antonio’s Prequalified Artist List

Press

Cohart News | July 2025 Article Link

Art Collector News | June 2025 Article Link

Glasstire Top Five | May 15, 2025 Article Link

Marfa Invitational Open Press Release | April, 2025 Article Link

Fresh from the studio | Women and Their Work | Jan, 2025 Youtube Link

Georgetown Sculpture Tour 1st Place Award | October, 2024  Article link

Andrea La Valleur-Purvis | Canvas Rebel | July, 2024  Article link

Meet Andrea La Valleur-Purvis | Bold Journey Magazine | February, 2024  Article link

Conversations with Andrea La Valleur-Purvis | VoyageAustin Magazine | February, 2024  Article link

Light and Shadow | Wacoan Magazine | November, 2023 | Editorial by Susan Bean Aycock Article link

Baylor Lariat,  Baylor University | October, 2023  Article link

Waco Tribune-Herald | September, 2023  Article link

Conversations with Creative Waco | NPR Radio, August, 2023 | Episode link 

Hermès in the Heart of Texas: The Art of Kermit Oliver | Glasstire | August, 2023 | Curator | Article link

Waco Business News – Downtown Depot | NPR Radio, August, 2023| Episode link

Waco Tribune-Herald | May 16, 2023  Article link

Waco Tribune-Herald | May 9, 2023 Article link

Waco Tribune-Herald | February, 2023 Article link

Photo by Nick Cline